Auction To Sell Moon Dust Collected By Apollo 11 Mission
Those interested in space are excited about the auction of a moon dust sample collected by astronauts during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Moon dust samples are distinguished by the fact that they come from the famous NASA mission of Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon, and this is not the only thing exciting about this dust sample, but it also holds a rather disgusting secret.
Moon dust and other creatures were fed to cockroaches during a scientific experiment, and their guts were collected to monitor their pathological effects. Science was concerned about astronauts encountering harmful chemicals or returning pollution to Earth during the first mission to the moon, according to the New York Post.
Scientists investigated the negative effects of moon dust because of this. The crickets were killed and dissected after ingesting and digesting small amounts of lunar dust. Dust from their stomachs was removed by scientists and no poisoning was found. A few of the insects' carcasses and other study memorabilia, including the remains of the insect's last meal, will be auctioned this week.
This auction is known as 'Wonderful Rarities', according to Russia Today. In the course of the bidding process, bids were opened on May 26 and are due on June 23. Moon sample auction experts believe that the sample will ultimately be worth $400k (£317k) when the initial bid is $10,000 (£7,918).
We are very excited to be representing Apollo 11 because it represents the most important mission, but we are also happy to include things like crickets that were fed lunar ingredients, which illustrates how varied the mission was," Bobby Livingstone, executive vice president of RR Auction, told CollectSPACE.
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